Tag Archive | amazement

Today I am celebrating life because life is good every day, and God is good every day. As a culture, we tend to wait for a holiday or a certain event to feel as if we are allowed to celebrate, but this way of thinking robs us of the opportunity to celebrate every single day. We need to give ourselves permission to find cause to celebrate each day no matter the date, or the reason.

Perhaps you are thinking right now that there is no real reason to celebrate–that you have nothing worth celebrating. That sort of thinking usually stems from a lack of gratitude for the miracles present in each moment of life. It can take practice to develop an attitude of gratitude, but it is something that will change your world, and your view of life in general. Even on a day filled with annoyances, distractions, and unfortunate events, there are things for which you can be truly grateful. Start small by making a list of five things that you are grateful for and do this every day. Over time you will find that your list begins to grow and then it will grow again some more. Look around you, wherever you go, specifically searching for often unseen things to dazzle and amaze you. As you begin to notice more, your gratitude will increase yet again, and as your gratitude increases, so will your desire to celebrate life daily.

Certainly, there are many conscious choices that you will need to make if you are not in the habit of celebrating life. Deciding to feel grateful is one of them, and deciding to be responsible for your own happiness is another choice you will need to make. You will have to choose to slow down and look around. You will have to choose to begin to work towards becoming someone who sees the positives in life more than you see the negatives. You are going to have to let go of grudges, and complaining, and blaming, and feeling sorry for yourself. Those are big choices filled with huge responsibility to yourself, and others, and it will take work. Begin by believing that, step by step, you can do it. Choose not to get discouraged, or berate yourself if you have to keep starting over. Just begin again and keep moving forward.

As you make headway with these thought changes you will find that you will begin to celebrate life without having to force yourself to do it. Sometimes you will find yourself swept over by random gratitude waves so big they nearly wash you away. You will feel joy and wonder for reasons others cannot quite comprehend. Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. Go on and celebrate anyway!

What does celebrating life look like in practice? That will differ for each individual, so be creative and follow your heart in how you celebrate. As you become a happier, more grateful, and celebratory person, do not hide your sparkle and shine, not that you really will be able to hide it. Imagine what a gift you are giving your family and friends with your new way of life! Think of the many excellent and valuable lessons you are teaching your children each time you dance with them for no reason, or bake cupcakes just because it’s Friday, or watch a special movie together just because you are so happy to be with them. Your personal changes will have a huge ripple effect on the people around you, and you will find more and more to celebrate effortlessly, and so will the people around you.

For me a celebration can be as simple as painting my nails, or watching a movie, or dancing in my living room with my son, or outside under the stars by myself. It may mean making a nice meal, or baking cookies, or cupcakes, or counting Lady Slipper’s as I walk up my hill. I counted 43 yesterday. I think that is cause for celebrating life, and I am doing that today, all day. How will you celebrate this amazing life that you have been given today? When you think about it, there is no reason not to celebrate!